Inquiry at day care after infant's death

The baby girl, with a full set of dark hair, chubby legs and a magnetic grin, was brought into a day care center that advertised itself as serving Manatee County's working poor.

It was 8:09 a.m. on Jan. 7.

Within five hours, the 4-month-old was dead, bleeding from the mouth in the infant room at the Children's Academy of Southwest Florida.

The state ruled her caregivers did not follow the proper protocol for taking care of an infant — a rule the “facility director and staff knew or should have known,” according to a Department of Children and Families report.

Now the Bradenton day care center could be forced to close after investigators say the staff lied to them and one employee tested positively for drugs on the day the baby died. The academy's director is accused of turning a blind eye when the employee showed indications of cocaine and marijuana use, and of not keeping accurate records at a center where infants were reportedly handled roughly.

While a Bradenton police investigation is underway, no arrests have been made, said Deputy Chief Warren Merriman, who declined to say whether the department expects criminal charges.

The department is waiting on the autopsy, which include toxicology reports, Merriman said.

The infant's cause and manner of death have not yet been determined, medical examiner Russell Vega said.

On that Tuesday morning, the healthy baby arrived at the day care center at 923 26th St. W., according to the DCF report, which oversees licenses for childcare facilities.

At 8:30 a.m., the baby was moved into the infant room where two women — Lidia Ochoa, 54, and Greta Ortiz, 57, — were in charge, according to the DCF report and a Bradenton police report.

Geraldine Pasquarella, the daycare's executive director, told DCF license staff the baby was fed, put into a swing and then placed on her side in her crib for a nap.

But a surveillance video shows something different. It showed Ochoa placing the child in a bouncy chair and using a blanket to prop up a bottle for the 4-month-old to feed herself.

About 9:10 a.m., Ochoa laid the little girl on her stomach in the crib without burping her, the report said.

Child care providers are required to place infants on their backs when they are not able to roll over on their own, a strategy aimed at preventing Sudden Infant Death Syndrome. It's a rule the “facility director and staff knew or should have known,” the report said.

The baby's handling violated other day care license requirements because bottles should not be propped for children who are too small to hold them.

“The facility staff misrepresentation of the events” is both a crime and violates its license, the DCF report said.

“The significant difference between staff accounts of the incident and the video evidence suggests facility staff chose to disregard the applicable standards and appropriate practices, and then attempted to conceal their acts and omissions,” the report said.

In the crib, the infant could be seen trying to lift her head and kick her legs.

Staff checked on her three times — at 9:18 a.m., 9:52 a.m. and 10:12 a.m. The fourth time, it was too late. At 11:03 a.m., they realized the baby was unconscious.

Ochoa could see blood on the child's mouth. She went to get help, and at 11:16 a.m., the tragedy at the day care was reported to Bradenton police.

The baby was taken to Manatee Memorial Hospital where she was pronounced dead, and detectives started their investigation.

After the child's death, officials noticed other troubling violations.

A teacher who had initially cared for the 4-month-old tested positive for cocaine and marijuana on Jan. 7.

Pasquarella knew about the failed drug test but “took no action,” said the DCF report, which redacted the teacher's name.

When DCF returned to the daycare center the next day, they noticed that same teacher was still working, caring for infants.

“Only at that point did G.P. indicate (the teacher) would not be permitted to return to work after Jan. 8,” the DCF report said.

The center's video also showed staff roughly picking up infants by one arm or propping bottles to feed babies.

Pasquarella did not return a message seeking comment.

There were also discrepancies with the day care center's books.

The sign-in sheets listed only eight infants on Jan. 7, but there were 17 babies in the two infant rooms, according to the day care staff interviews and the diaper-changing chart.

The violations were serious enough that DCF revoked Children's Academy's license and denied its renewal for the 26th Street location.

The day care's license expired Saturday. It has until Feb. 14 to appeal the state's decision.

DCF also sent out an emergency order on Jan.22 forbidding the day care from caring for infants 12 months old or younger while it remains open.

“The facility poses an imminent serious danger to the health and well-being of infants in the facility's care. The facility video shows a pattern of violations which could, and for (the 4-month-old) did, result in serious harm or death,” the report said.

In recent DCF inspections, Children's Academy was compliant with the law, except for minor infractions, such as employees not washing their hands after a snack.

DCF will not release the 4-month-old's name until it receives the medical examiner's findings and can determine if the child died as a result of abuse or neglect, agency spokeswoman Natalie Harrell said.

Bradenton police declined to release the day care's video, citing the ongoing investigation.

Ortiz and the 4-month-old's parents did not return message for comment. Ochoa, who does not speak English, declined comment through her daughter.